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It felt like the game was starting to change.
Looking across the sea, Kaito witnessed "high walls" being erected at a speed visible to the naked eye. Of course, they weren't literal walls; the NPCs had simply concentrated their firepower to establish a front line. Shimmering energy barriers flickered in the night, pulsing with a rhythmic, breath-like motion.
Kaito originally intended to ignore this NPC defense mechanism, but as his gaze swept behind the barriers—noticing the dense clusters of Elite Unit markers—he changed his mind.
"Who said open-world games don't have a way to pull mobs..." he muttered to himself, the corners of his lips curling into an involuntary smirk. "This is basically a gift."
[Please choose upgrade path]
Elemental Shield 5 → Resonance (Void)
Elemental Overflow 0 → 1
Attack Power 0 → 1
Brainless evolution... wait, wait. Overflow? Is there an Archangel build here? Just kidding, sticking to the evolution.
[Resonance (Void)]
Active: Obtain a special shield equal to 100% (1000+1000+1600) HW. When the shield breaks, it forces a localized Time-Slow state on all surrounding enemies.
Passive: Initial energy magnitude increased by 1000 HW. Grants "Unstoppable" status while the shield is active.
"Leveling is getting way too hard," he complained.
If Level 14 to 15 required roughly 14 million experience points, then 15 to 16 required about 43 million. Kaito did a quick estimate of the level cap. "Is it Level 20? At this rate, I'll be farming until the year of the monkey."
In other words, without a way to gather mobs, this game was rapidly approaching the point of being "flavorless to eat, yet a pity to throw away."
With that in mind, Kaito wasn't in a hurry anymore. He found a secluded high ground to sit down and quietly watched as the front line continued to refine itself. Energy barriers wove into a net under the night sky, turrets were deployed one after another, and the silhouettes of elite mobs flickered behind the screens.
"Whatever, I'll check it out tomorrow. Maybe by then, the elites will all be bunched up together."
He set the game to auto-save and shut down in three hours, gave Benares a few instructions, and logged off.
The city's neon lights were brilliant and bright, but the apartment was pitched in darkness. His sister seemed to be asleep.
Elysia hadn't woken up yet. Although the emergence of the HSO had briefly unified the human front, it brought a pressing question... what was her position in all of it?
How do you fight a Herrscher? With technology? Or as the "Divine Maiden" of the proverbs?
Under Mobius's suggestion, Elysia introduced the concept of Honkai Energy Manipulation into the world of technology. But this skill, which would be widely known in the future, carried unavoidable risks and hazards in this era.
"Miss Elysia, please trust in human technology just this once."
This was likely the hundredth time she had heard such persuasion. The project's success rate was abysmal; the only reason people maintained any confidence was that successful cases had actually appeared. Moreover, given the massive population base, the number of successful individuals looked quite substantial.
High schooler Kevin, in particular, had risen to become "Humanity's Second" at a near-exaggerated speed. Most importantly, Kevin's physical data was verifiable and stood up to scrutiny.
"I can guarantee that this plan will not be shelved, but at least for now, the pre-war attrition is far too severe."
The other person's tone was as gentle as ever. Ever since Kevin's emergence, the training for Honkai Energy Manipulation had been progressing systematically, yet even though results had been achieved, people didn't seem to be showing them off much.
Elysia remained calm.
Until at one point, Elysia truly felt the "change" the Professor had mentioned. She found the initial origin of that change; the fearless sacrifices finally had value. Her eyes gradually grew moist, yet she showed no sign of weakness.
From this moment on, the Stigma Project was set in motion, and Mobius's past theories truly merged into reality. By simply implanting a special genetic fragment into the human body, a vast amount of information could be stored, granting significant Honkai resistance.
"If it weren't for the crisis at hand, I would really want to call this 'art'."
Mobius leaned nearby, gazing at the projected genome model. Unfortunately, time was limited. Despite the massive cost, she had only managed to find one genetic sequence that was barely compatible.
Elysia let out a couple of bitter laughs. If this was art, it was more than a little ironic.
"You should smile. Because of the genetic affinity, many people in the future will be more inclined to like you," Mobius said softly, offering a bit of comfort. "Your future environment will be much better."
After all, for the sake of survival, Mobius had temporarily shifted her primary goal to: transforming humanity into "Divine Maidens" like Elysia—possessing extreme immortality and maintaining a stable state within Honkai-affected zones.
Elysia said nothing, forcing a faint smile. This was something she could actually help with, after all.
Mobius understood the silence. Young people always need time to adjust; they aren't used to treating human lives as mere statistics.
She draped a coat over Elysia's shoulders, then walked out of the lab alone to a distant facility—the lab belonging to Einstein.
Einstein caught sight of her, pushing a device containing the Herrscher of Reason's core toward Mobius with a flick of her finger. She offered her habitual mockery: "Found a way to evolve humanity yet?"
Mobius didn't answer but silently rolled up her sleeve. The action made Einstein instinctively pull back. The physical advantage of Mobius's 173cm height made Einstein doubt she would win in a physical confrontation.
"You need to help."
Mobius spoke softly. She wasn't there to fight; she extended her pale arm, showing a vibrant mark on her normally pristine skin.
Einstein froze, blurting out: "You've turned into a delinquent girl?"
Mobius's brow furrowed, a dark line appearing on her forehead. She pressed her hand lightly on the solid wood desk; fine cracks spread out like a spiderweb from her palm.
"Speak, ma'am!" Einstein straightened her back immediately, her throat bobbing. If that punch landed on her head... The soldiers aren't ready yet, and this gluttonous snake has already experimented on herself?
"I need an AI. Preferably a biological computer—the kind that can self-repair and sustain the emotions of billions of people."
Mobius laid out her requirements. "The request is difficult, so multiple AIs can assist. Once Stigmas are implanted on a massive scale, a terminal must appear. We don't have enough time to let the Stigmas complete themselves naturally."
She explained simply, trusting Einstein would understand.
Einstein went silent for a full thirty seconds. "If you wanted to hit me, you didn't need to find such a complicated, high-flown excuse."
A biological computer capable of carrying the emotions of billions... she couldn't say it was impossible, but it wasn't something that could be built in secret. Such a computer wasn't as simple as making a game.
Mobius gazed at her quietly. Once Einstein was sure the other woman wasn't going to hit her, she pointed to the Herrscher core she was supposed to be studying. "I don't know what you're planning, but... I do have a recommendation for someone. Though you might not be able to stand her personality."
"Who?"
"...Vill-V."
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